Description

Dahlia Dark Spirit is a compact yet striking variety renowned for its deep maroon to near-black flowers, which hold their colour exceptionally well even in bright summer light. The blooms are small, refined, and produced in abundance, creating a dramatic contrast against lighter perennials and providing a strong architectural accent in borders and containers. In Irish gardens, Dark Spirit performs best in a sunny, sheltered position, ideally in free-draining but moisture-retentive soil enriched with organic matter. It’s particularly well suited to urban gardens, courtyards, raised beds, coastal plots, and mixed perennial borders, where reliable summer warmth and protection from Atlantic winds help maximise flowering. While fully double dahlias are not top-tier pollinator magnets, Dark Spirit still offers occasional value to hoverflies and small garden insects, especially when planted alongside nectar-rich companions such as salvia, helichrysum, rudbeckia, and scabiosa. Its long flowering period—from mid-summer until the first frosts—gives consistent late-season structure and colour when many other plants are fading. Dahlia Dark Spirit is also an excellent choice for cut flower use, adding depth and contrast to bouquets. In colder inland areas, the tubers benefit from either lifting for winter storage or mulching heavily to protect from prolonged winter wet.